Teachings on Lamrim Chenmo

By His Holiness the Dalai Lama

In July 2008, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama gave a historic six-day teaching on The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Lamrim Chenmo), Tsongkhapa's classic text on the stages of spiritual evolution. Translator for His Holiness was Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D.

This event at Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, marked the culmination of a twelve-year effort by the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center (TBLC), New Jersey, to translate the Great Treatise into English. The transcripts were kindly provided to LYWA by the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center, which holds the copyright. Webcast recordings of these teachings are available through His Holiness’ official website.

The transcripts have been published in a wonderful book, From Here to Enlightenment, edited by Guy Newland and published by Shambhala Publications. We encourage you to buy the book from your local Dharma center, bookstore, or directly from Shambhala.

Day Three, Afternoon Session, July 12 2008

Transcript #5

PART ONE

Ten Types of Afflictions and Their Antidotes1

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So the next outline is “Identifying the afflictions,” and broadly, ten types of afflictions are identified: five of which belong to the category of ‘view,’ and five which are ‘non-view’ afflictions. But actually, experientially speaking, when it comes to afflictions— this is a category of phenomena which we are all very familiar with.

His Holiness: If we analyze carefully in our experience, then it’s quite clear. If we pay attention, then I think it’s quite clear most disturbances of mind are those negative emotions we call nyo mong…[continues in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So these klesas (or nyo mong in Tibetan), afflictions which (as Asanga defined) these are mental states whose arising...

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: … these are mental states arising...

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: these are mental states, the arising of which creates a disturbance within the mental continuum of the individual. So these are the afflictions or nyo mong.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So one important point to understand from the basic distinction that is drawn between those afflictions (those which belong to the class of ‘views’ and those afflictions which are classified as ‘non-view’) there is an important point that needs to be understood here. For example, if you look at afflictions such as attachment, aversion and so on which belong to the category of the ‘non-view’ class, there, the primary kind of modality of the emotions themselves is less cognitive. They are more affective states. Therefore the element of cognitive ascertainment is lesser.

Compared to them, those afflictions which belong to the category of ‘view’ are in fact described as distorted forms of intelligence or afflicted intelligence (shey rab nyo mong chen). So these, in a sense, are more serious forms of afflictions. And because of their kind of distorted nature as some form of distorted intelligence, they also tend to have a greater kind of, sense of, cognitive orientation and also ascertainment, false ascertainment, as well.

Similarly when you apply antidotes to these different emotions, for the ‘non-view’ type emotions like attachment or aversion, then there are specific antidotes that are presented in the teachings. For example, as an antidote to aversion or anger or hatred, cultivation of loving-kindness is recommended. As an antidote to dealing with attachment and particularly lust, meditation on the impurity of the body and so on is recommended. However these forms of antidotes are really understood more as a kind of antidote that acts more in the form of suppression rather than total eradication.

Whereas if you look at the ‘view’ type afflictions, which are afflicted forms of intelligence, given that they are forms of intelligence, their antidotes must also take a similar form of application of intelligence. So the principal antidotes here are more of a wisdom type of practice, and so these are antidotes which are ‘eliminating’ antidotes, ‘eradicating’ antidotes.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So in the Prasannapada, Chandrakirti, when commenting on the different functions of the antidotes of specific afflictions (although he may be speaking in the context of subtle understanding of afflictions according to the Madhyamaka-Prasangika system) but he makes the following point. He says that the antidotes against the individual afflictions such as attachment and aversion or anger that are presented in the sutras, if you analyze them, if you examine them carefully, then these antidotes are very specific to their corresponding afflictions. For example, like the antidote against attachment, which is the meditation on impurity of the human body, the antidote against lust, that antidote will work only against lust and that type of emotion, but not against aversion and anger.

Similarly, the meditation on loving-kindness is presented as the antidote against aversion and anger and hatred, but that type of meditation, antidote, will only work against emotions belonging to that class, but not against attachment. And in fact, if you examine carefully, it is also conceivable that for example, while conquering one’s lust and attachment (when one meditates upon impurity of the human body) there is at least in principle the possibility that this kind of meditation can in fact lead to a form of aversion to the body. So further, similarly, loving-kindness meditation focused upon a specific individual, although it may be helpful in dealing with aversion and anger and hatred, but there is also the possibility that as a result of that kind of cultivation it can enhance one’s attachment.

In contrast, the antidote that is recommended against ignorance and delusion – which is the wisdom of emptiness—this antidote is applicable to all afflictions, whereas the other antidotes are effective only with respect to specific afflictions. So Chandrakirti makes this point. And, for example, even from our own personal point of view, sort of experiential point of view, if we try to understand the nature of the afflictions when they arise, we can at least make some estimation as to how delusion or grasping at true existence serves as the basis for their arising.

For example, when we have strong emotion towards an object, say an attachment or anger, underlying that emotion or emotional reaction is an assumption of some kind of solid reality which we are reacting to, which presupposes a notion of an independent or truly existing object. So here, therefore, the moment we are able to bring in the wisdom element and reveal the constructed nature of that object that we are reacting to, then the grip of our grasping tends to get released, lessened.

So for example, Nagarjuna, in his fifteenth chapter in the Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way, when defining the concept, the notion, of svabhava (intrinsic nature) he says, “Intrinsic nature presupposes something that is unconstructed and something that is independent.” And the implication here is that when we grasp, when we emotionally react to something, we tend to presuppose that object (to which we are reacting) to be independent and unconstructed, something that is solid and concrete. And therefore the moment we are able to lessen that grasping at the solidity and dissolve, dismantle, that concreteness, then it has the effect of loosening that grip.

So the wisdom which is presented as the antidote against delusion is the wisdom realizing dependant origination in terms of emptiness. And so here, in fact, an old scientist that I met a couple of years ago, in our discussion he told me that (and he’s a psychoanalyst), he told me that when someone, when an individual experiences a strong anger towards another person, at that moment he or she projects—especially when he experiences hatred—he or she perceives a quality of undesireableness in the object. And within that perception, 90% of the quality that he attributes to that object is a mental projection.

So, of course he’s not talking from the Buddhist understanding. He’s talking as a scientist. And this view fits really well with the basic Buddhist understanding of the arising of the afflictions, where underlying attachment and aversion are what are called false attention, false attentional processes, which then give rise to the emotional reactions. So the Buddhist understanding fits really well with the modern scientific understanding of these emotions as well.

How Afflictions Give Rise to Karmic Actions

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: Then in the lam-rim text, after having explained the nature of these afflictions, Tsongkhapa goes on to explain how these afflictions then give rise to the committing of volitional actions, the karmic actions.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: Then we read in Tsongkhapa’s text, he explains that:

“Therefore the individual who is under the power of afflicted ignorance and the egoistic view of grasping at self through his three doors of body, speech and mind, when he commits, engages, in actions of the non-virtuous class such as taking the life of other sentient beings, then he or she will create de-meritorious karma. And, however, if the individual engages in actions of the virtuous class belonging to the desire realm such as giving charity and observing morality and so on, he will create meritorious karma. And on the other hand, if the individual engages in the meditative practices of cultivating tranquil abiding on the basis of which he or she cultivates the form and formless realms’ concentrative states, then he or she will accumulate the unwavering karma.”2 So this is on page 306.3

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So then Tsongkhapa writes in page 305 (it’s the final paragraph):

“This being the case, you might not have acquired through extensive meditative analysis of the faults of cyclic existence the remedy that eradicates the craving for the wonders of cyclic existence. Also you might not have used discerning wisdom to properly analyze the meaning of selflessness, and might not have become familiar with the two spirits of enlightenment. Under such circumstances, your virtuous activities, with some exceptions on account of the power of field, would constitute typical origins of suffering and hence would fuel the process of cyclic existence.”

This is an important point. What Tsongkhapa is explaining here is that unless our virtuous activities (whether engaging in generosity or observance of morality and so on)… unless these virtuous activities are complemented by any of the three principal elements of the path (true renunciation, understanding of the correct view of emptiness, and the awakening mind) if our virtuous activities are not reinforced and complemented with any of these three principal elements of the path, then our virtuous activities will all become (except for some exceptions) further causes for our continued existence in samsara.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So the exceptions that he, Tsongkhapa, is referring to here, which he calls the power of the field—to give an example: Nagarjuna writes… I think this is in A Friendly Letter, (Suhrllekha) where Nagarjuna says that, citing from a sutra, “Even with relation to the form of the Tathagata where on a mural, if one relates to this, even in a state of mind that is disturbed and agitated...”

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: “…and then even though someone looks at this in a state of mind that is agitated, but he or she will create the karma to have visions of the Buddha in the future in many Buddha-fields.”

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So this also touches upon the power of bodhisattvas as a field of merit because the bodhisattvas are practitioners who dedicate their entire being and adopt this perspective which looks into an infinite time frame, and dedicate their entire being towards the benefit of all
beings through an infinite time scale. And so, because of this power of aspiration of the bodhisattvas, they also become powerful fields of merit. So any interaction with bodhisattvas, whether by sight or through hearing or even mere reflection, contemplation, of the bodhisattvas becomes the basis for creation of merits. And, for example, in Shantideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, he talks about how the bodhisattvas are those who, even when someone causes harm to them, the perpetrator of harm is ultimately led to goodness and happiness.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So the next outline is “How you die and are reborn,” and then this includes many further subdivisions including such as the “Causes of death,” “The mind at death,” and so on, and “Where the heat gathers,” “How you reach the intermediate state after death,” and “How you then take rebirth.”

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So I shall not comment upon any of these outlines, for example…

Ten Questions for the Dalai Lama4

His Holiness: Questions... I forgot…

Thupten Jinpa: [in Tibetan then English] So, we’ll take the questions now.

[The questions below, in quotation marks, are from the audience]

“Your Holiness, please tell us more about how the world’s religions can exist in harmony.”

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: “…how the world’s religions can exist in harmony. Can this harmony exist only if we all agree, if we agree that all religions ultimately lead their followers to the same place?”

His Holiness: The same place... [discusses with Thupten Jinpa in Tibetan]

“Same place” means heaven, or these things? I don’t know. Or moksha, salvation? That is difficult. There are a lot of differences. But broadly speaking, all major religious traditions want the same purpose, and that is to bring more compassion in our mind—if you seriously practice and follow one’s own tradition.

One of my Muslim friends once told me, “If you are a genuine Islam practitioner, he or she should extend their love, as much as love to God, to Allah— that love extend to entire creatures as much as your love to Allah.” So usually we use the Buddhist term, mother sentient beings, where entire sentient beings are considered as dear as your own mother. And then naturally, I think, happier human society. And at such a level I think all traditions same. Same potential, same aim.

And after this life, then different views. Some say heaven or, I think, and for the time being,[continues in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: …coffin…

His Holiness: … in coffin, at least for some time, some rest. So there are differences.

So now here one thing I usually believe and also tell people: the concept of one truth, one religion; and the concept of several truths, several religions—these two things are contradictory. Now because in most cases in the past, and also in the present, the conflict in the name of religion in most cases is not about religion itself, but political sort of ambition…

Thupten Jinpa: …power…

His Holiness: …political power, or economic interest, or some cases even individual personal interest. So they manipulate religious faith or religious name. That’s something different.

Then another category: the sincere practitioner believes in one’s own religion and practices seriously, but then the problem is the concept of one truth, one religion—other religions are not genuine religion. So in that case, I think, out of ‘compassion,’ one deliberately destroys the followers of other religions. It happened in the past. Today I don’t know. Like that.

So therefore now the concept one religion, one truth and the concept of several truths, several religions, now these two contradictory things—now how to work on that? In the terms of individual, the concept of one truth, one religion, is very relevant. I am a Buddhist who finds Buddhist way of approach is most effective. Then in that case Buddhism, for that person, Buddhism is best way to transform the negative mind. One Christian, for one person or Christian, the concept of God or Christianity is most effective. So for that person, Christianity is the best. So only religion, only truth.

So like medicine, for each different illness we cannot say this one medicine is best. We cannot say. We have to judge what is best or not best according to the illness. So similarly, according to the individual mental dispositions, for this person Christianity is best. For this person, Islam is best. For this person, Buddhism is best. So okay. So in each case, their one truth, one religion, is their suitable, most effective religion.

Now in terms of three persons, or two persons, one Buddhist, one Christian, then already several truths, several religions already there. So in this hall, Buddhists there, Christians must be there, some Islamic practitioners must be there. Some Jews. So already it’s reality. Several truths, several religions there. So in terms of ...

Thupten Jinpa: …society…

His Holiness: …society, several truths, several religions, I think that is a fact. So understand that.

Then, now generally, pluralism (the idea of pluralism of religion) now is already increasing. So that’s a healthy sign. So, I think it is possible. Still we need more effort.

Thupten Jinpa: “Your Holiness, with regard to the three persons of different scope, initial, medium and great capacity, how does one know at what level one’s own capacity is? Is it an innate capacity, or is it influenced by an individual’s practice, commitment or desire?”

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So in the section where Tsongkhapa explains the distinctions between the three persons of three levels of capacity, one of the points he raises is that by understanding the different levels of capacity then an individual may avoid the error of (despite not having even the kind of the motivation of the initial capacity) having the arrogance of thinking that, “I belong to the practitioner of the great capacity.”

His Holiness: Many years ago in India, I think in the sixties, my friend, one lady, she told me (one European lady, I think English lady) that in her dreams some different sort of bodhisattvas’ images happened…[continues in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: This was in the sixties. There was this British woman who in our conversation told me that she was experiencing these very unusual dreams where she was having visions of these bodhisattvas and great beings. And because in the text, one of the kind of indications of a bodhisattva having reached the first level of bodhisattva bhumi is listed as having visions of various buddhas and bodhisattvas, so she told me that maybe she had reached that level.

So of course, as this text says that another individual cannot completely determine the level of realization of another person, and also I didn’t want to be too blunt to her, so I politely pointed out to her that the indications of someone having reached that level also include other signs as well such as the hundred buddha fields will be shaken, so all of these I told her. So…

His Holiness: So externally, from the outside, by another person, unless…[continues in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: …unless you have some kind of superior cognition…

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: … superior cognition that can perceive other people’s minds directly…

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So even in the case of superior cognition that is at the ordinary level, one cannot – even though one may be able to intuit certain aspects of others’ minds – but one cannot still perceive another person’s levels of realization.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So therefore it’s very difficult to determine the level of capacity of a practitioner from the external means. It’s really something that needs to be attested to from within one’s own personal experience. So in one’s own case, by examining oneself carefully, if you still have strong attachment to money, fame, food, good life and so on, then you still haven’t reached the initial capacity practice.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So similarly if you find out that your attachment to the concerns of next immediate life is very strong, then…

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: …which includes having admiration for the joys of cyclic existence, the excellence of cyclic existence, then that means you haven’t reached the middle, intermediate level of capacity.

His Holiness: So you yourself examine what is your way of thinking. Then you will know what is your stage, mental stage.

Thupten Jinpa: “Can one be a practicing Buddhist (this is something to do with Buddhism in America) can one be a practicing Buddhist and still be an active participant in the American system of materialistic rewards, career advancement? These sometimes seem to be in contradiction.”

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So…

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So it really depends upon one’s own state of mind and attitude. For example if one’s attitude is primarily that motivated by wanting to bring about others’ welfare, to work for others’ benefit, then many of these other facilities become an important part of the factors that would help you fulfill that aspiration.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So for example, in the lam-rim text there is a section dealing with…

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: …the preciousness of human existence, there is a description of an extraordinary form of human existence, and eight characteristics of that are listed in which there is power included, there is credibility of one’s words and so on, so these are included in the qualities as well.

“How does one find a teacher, one that has the qualities Tsongkhapa is speaking of? Does that teacher need to be a monk or a nun to be on.... sorry. Does one need to be a monk or a nun to be on the path? What if teachers are far away? Does one need to move, or are there ways at a distance for intense learning from a teacher?”

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: This reminds me of a story from the Kadampa period when the Kadampa master Dromtönpa was passing away. He was lying with his head on the lap of his student, Potowa, and as he was dying Potowa was feeling very sad. And he wept, and the tear, one of the drops of his tears fell on Dromtönpa’s cheek and he looked up and he said, “Why are you crying?”

And Potowa said that, “Up to now you have been my teacher, and I’ve had someone to ask, seek counsel from, and ask questions and so on. And now that you are dying I will have no one to rely on, so that’s why I’m feeling sad.”

And Dromtönpa said, “Yes, up to now I have been your teacher but now, from now on, you should make the text be your spiritual teacher.” This is a beautiful instruction. So there is no need to be physically near to a teacher. You can seek counsel from the text.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So if it is necessary to have certain clarifications of certain points of the practices, then you can discuss with some other people, but initially you don’t need to relate to that person as your spiritual teacher but rather more as a colleague, a Dharma colleague.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: Of course if one wants to receive vows or take a Vajrayana empowerment, then one has to relate to that person in the form of a teacher, spiritual teacher.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So here it is very important to first examine whether or not that person is someone that is qualified for you.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: For example, in the sutra the Buddha states that the compassionate qualities of the bodhisattva can be inferred on the basis of observing his behavioral expressions. So the Buddha nature, the inclination towards buddhahood of the bodhisattva, can be determined, inferred, from his external expressions. So here one needs to observe the way in which the teacher conducts himself or herself, his behavior, his speech and so on, and on that basis one can test.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: And these examinations and observations should not be based simply on doing it once or twice. For example, in the tantra, in some of the tantric texts, there is even a mention of, if necessary, taking twelve years to test your teacher.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So as to the second question, you don’t need to be a monastic member, a monk or a nun, to be on the path.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: Geshe Pabongka Rinpoche, for example, wrote the following, he says that, “If one is capable, liberation can be found even while remaining as an householder. But if one is not capable, even though one might be remaining in the wilderness as a meditator, one may be creating causes for one’s own future rebirth in the unfortunate realms.”

This is a question about what is meant by the term ‘sentient beings’. “Does this include only the mammals or does it include insects? Where is the line between what is a sentient being and what is not a sentient being?”

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So here the kind of determinant line is really understood to be whether or not that being has the capacity to experience suffering and happiness.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So in fact we had this discussion many years ago, and Francisco Varela, the late Chilean scientist, was part of the discussion about what can be empirically identified as a sentient being or not, and so finally one consensus that emerged is that any form of organism that has a kind of a self-propelling ability to move from…

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: …on its own, an ability to move across space from one point to another point, that was the consensus that emerged. And the smallest level of organism that we can identify as a sentient being, at that time when we were discussing, we decided was an amoeba that could be included as a sentient being.

His Holiness: So mosquitoes and bed bugs show they are sentient beings. We must respect them. Except occasionally. When we are, you see, in a very peaceful sleep, then when a mosquito comes, then for a short moment, we forget about it being a sentient being.

Thupten Jinpa: “In our country many schools focus time, energy and personal staff solely, only, on teaching the intellect. How can we encourage and instill the seeds of compassion and wisdom in our children?”

His Holiness: Now that’s a serious matter. Now there are people at some universities and some scientists, now for the last several years there is a serious discussion how to teach a student from kindergarten up to university level—not as a religious sort of matter—but usually I call this secular ethics, through a secular way. So that’s very, very important.

So we are really lacking. Just mere knowledge with a lack of sense of responsibility, a sense of compassion, then knowledge can be destructive. That’s very clear. So there’s no guarantee. External rules, laws, these things also limited. So self-discipline is the key thing. So for that, a sense of responsibility based on compassion is very essential, hmm? Next. I think my public talk will touch on these things.

Thupten Jinpa: “Your Holiness, since I was a child, I’ve always wanted to know how is it that there are more and more people on the planet if we have all been here since beginningless time?”

His Holiness: [discusses with Thupten Jinpa in Tibetan] Of course I think it is natural, [if we] multiply, two parents, at least then a few children, and children again have a few children, I think that’s nature of sentient beings...[continues in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: Of course we have to take into account, from the Buddhist understanding, multiple world systems, so there are sentient beings in other world systems as well.

“Is it possible that a buddha or a bodhisattva may be a regular person, just an ordinary person such as one of us, one of the lay persons in the audience, or must a buddha or bodhisattva manifest or reincarnate into an individual who is chosen or found as a lama and chooses to become a monk or a nun?”

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So the external forms of the manifestations of the buddhas and bodhisattvas can be of many different kinds, in fact including animals as well, so the external appearances are not fixed.

“How can a person achieve inner peace?”

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So in the case of the Tibetan term “lama” which is a Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit term “guru,” if you look at the etymology of the meaning of this term, it refers to someone who is unexcelled, someone who could be unexcelled in terms of knowledge, in terms of understanding, in terms of realization. So this is something that one has to bear in mind. There is no meaning of the concept of “a living buddha” in the Tibetan word “lama.”

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So the term “lama” is actually…

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So in fact the Tibetan term “lama,” a teacher, is a relative term, and it can make sense only in relation to a student. So when there is a student, there is a teacher. So unfortunately, you know, later, within the Tibetan society, the term acquired a different meaning of a certain hierarchy. So then you end up having labrangs, lama households which have lamas but no students.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So therefore I often point out that there can be four kinds of permutations of relationships between “lama” on the one side and reincarnate person on the other. So there can be someone who is both a lama (teacher) and a reincarnate monk. There can be someone who is a reincarnate monk but not a lama. There can be a lama who is not a…

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: …reincarnate person. And then there can be someone who is neither of the two. So there can be four permutations, possibilities, here.

“Your Holiness, how can a person achieve inner peace when he or she is sensitive and compassionate of the suffering and pain of other human beings?”

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So this actually relates to a question that is raised in Shantideva’s text, Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, where Shantideva raises the following point. He says that as a result of cultivating compassion, and when you experience compassion, isn’t it the case that sometimes you take on additional suffering and pain, and that creates a disturbance within you?

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So Shantideva responds to this by acknowledging that it is true that when you take up someone’s pain in the experience of compassion, you do experience a sense of disequilibrium, disturbance, inside you. But he says that this is qualitatively different from someone experiencing his or her own pain, because when you experience your own suffering there is an element of involuntariness. There is no control in your experience. There is a lack of control, and there are involuntary aspects to this.

Whereas when you experience suffering or pain as a result of cultivating compassion for others there is, although a disturbance, but there is a voluntary, voluntariness, in this aspect. And of course, part of that comes from the application of wisdom but also it is because you have chosen to share in others’ pain. So Shantideva says that these two are qualitatively different states.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: Also one could possibly say that when you experience your own suffering, and in relation to your own suffering and pain, there might be a greater tendency towards experiencing of fear and a kind of insecurity. Whereas when you cultivate compassion in relation to others’ pain and suffering, instead of fear and insecurity, in fact it may increase courage. For example some scientific experiments seem to suggest that when someone deliberately cultivates compassion, those regions of the brain that are involved in motor activity tend to be more active, so this seems to suggest that there is a willingness to reach out and do something.

His Holiness: Next.

Thupten Jinpa: “Would Your Holiness speak to the question of the language one uses in his or her prayers, in Buddhist prayers? I feel sometimes so lost when trying to say my prayers in Tibetan, and I feel that when I use English, it reaches my heart with a clearer intent and understanding.”

His Holiness: It’s much better. In our case, you see, if we recite Sanskrit words without knowing the meaning, it is much better to recite in Tibetan so you get the meaning, understanding or the meaning. So similarly for those English speaking…

Thupten Jinpa: …Buddhists…

His Holiness: … in English, or in French or German, in one’s own language it is much better. [continues in Tibetan]. Okay.

PART TWO

The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination5

Thupten Jinpa: So the next outline we’ll be dealing with is the one on twelve links of dependant origination.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So now when you look at the teachings on the twelve links of dependant origination, effectively this is an elaboration of the Buddha’s teachings on the four noble truths, where two sets of causes and conditions, causes and effects, were presented. So in the twelve links of dependant origination beginning with ignorance, Buddha explains how the origins of suffering, including the afflictions and karma, give rise to suffering.

For example, it begins with an affliction which is ignorance which then gives rise to volitional actions. And then on the basis of that, it creates the aggregates which are the basis of actual feelings of suffering and pain and which then lead to the sensory faculties, then feelings, then culminates in aging and death, including experiences of lamentation and sorrow and so on.

So in the presentation on the twelve links of dependant origination, Buddha presents the sequence in which, or the process by which, the origin of suffering gives rise to the whole chain of suffering. And indirectly, what the Buddha is presenting is also the reversal process which is that, when you bring about an end to the origin of suffering, then you will also bring an end to the suffering itself. So, indirectly, the Buddha is presenting the cause and effect set belonging to the enlightened class—the cessation and the path.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So the importance of this is also underscored in the Buddha’s own teachings. For example in the Vinaya texts, Buddha advises the monks to have a depiction of the wheel of life that illustrates the twelve links of dependant origination on the wall outside the monasteries and temples.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: If you look at the twelve links of dependent origination, these twelve links fall into three main categories of phenomena. The first, eighth and the ninth belong to the category of afflictions, and the second and the tenth belong to the category of karma, volitional action. And the remaining belong to the category of suffering. So when we are talking about suffering here, we are not talking only at the level of sensations or feeling, but rather the truth of suffering.

Links 1-3: Ignorance, Karma, Consciousness

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So also, if you look at the twelve links of dependent origination, some of the links are referred to as the propelling factors, and some are referred to as the propelled links. And then there are also other links which are referred to as the completing links, and then the completed results or completed links. So in this case, what this presentation does is to explain the temporal sequence in which these twelve links occur. Also it provides an understanding of how this life and the future life are linked through these twelve chains, twelve links, in the chain of dependent origination.

So for one cycle of twelve links to be complete, at least two lifetimes are required, and so, if it is longer, then there will be a third lifetime during which one cycle of the twelve links will come to be exhausted. So what this does is, it explains the relationship between the causes in a particular lifetime and the effects in another lifetime.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So...

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So the first link in the chain of twelve links is ignorance and, although there are certain Buddhist masters who identify ignorance in terms of a mere unknowing, but here most Buddhist masters identify it as a more active form of mis-knowing. And so when we’re talking about ignorance we’re talking about the fundamental ignorance which is the first link within the chain of twelve links. So, of course, as explained before, depending upon how one understands the ultimate nature of reality to be, how you understand the content of that ignorance will differ.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So...

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So for the ignorance which is the first link in the twelve links of dependant origination, broadly speaking, we can identify two principal types. One is the fundamental ignorance that is distorted in relation to the nature of reality, and then another type of ignorance which is distorted in relation to the law of cause and effect. However, the second type of ignorance is more contemporaneous with the actual committing of the action whereas the first type of ignorance is the real ultimate cause.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So the second link, which is referred to as the volitional…volition, really refers to the karma itself.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So the third link is consciousness, and in consciousness, the link of consciousness, there are two temporal stages. One is the causal stage which refers to the consciousness at the moment immediately after the karmic act has ceased, and it gets imprinted upon consciousness. So that consciousness is the causal stage of consciousness link, and when new rebirth occurs as a result of that karmic action, the first instance of the consciousness at the rebirth stage is referred to as the resultant stage of consciousness. So the consciousness is divided into two temporal parts.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: Then, with relation to the third link of consciousness, Tsongkhapa states that, although in the sutras six classes of consciousness are mentioned, but here when we talk about consciousness as the third link, he says that it refers primarily to foundational consciousness according to those that accept the notion of foundational consciousness, that is, alaya. And if one does not subscribe to the notion of foundational consciousness, then it refers to the sixth mental consciousness which is the basis. Basically it is the consciousness which serves as the basis for the imprints of the karma that is carried over.

So those that accept the notion of foundational consciousness are primarily the followers of what is known as the Mind Only School belonging to…that follows after the sutra, sorry—that follows after the scriptures, including Asanga, for example. Asanga presents various arguments to prove the presence of foundational consciousness. And one of the main premises for this is that one needs to posit a stable basis for the storing of the seeds of karma, and it needs to be a neutral state of mind, and it needs to be also a stable state of mind.

And however, when an advanced bodhisattva practitioner, a bodhisattva, enters into an uncontaminated state of non-conceptual wisdom and then at that moment, at that state, the imprints of the karma still need to be carried on, or imprints still need to be carried on (and since no non-virtuous states of mind exist at that point) there must be a neutral consciousness, whose continuity must still remain, that must carry the seeds of the karma. And therefore, they posit this more stable continuity of consciousness referred to as the foundational consciousness. But one of the main kinds of the driving force behind this is the assumption that there must be a continuity of consciousness that must be findable when you search for its essence. And it is this…

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So, when you search for the essence of the self, a true referent of the term self, there must be something that is substantial that can be found at the end of this analysis, so they posit foundational consciousness as being that continuity of consciousness. However, those that do not accept the notion of foundational consciousness then will accept the sixth mental consciousness to be the repository of the karmic seeds, imprints.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So these latter schools, sorry, these latter masters, will then take the sixth mental consciousness to be constituting the identity of the individual, the identity of the person.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: However those Buddhist masters that reject any notion of intrinsic existence, svabhava, they reject the whole approach of presupposing the need to find something substantial when you search for the essence of the person. For them, when you search for the essence of the person, the only fact that one can refer to as the person is the “mere I,” the label “I.” Therefore from their point of view, although consciousness (at the point when karmic action ceases) which gets imprinted may be a temporary repository of that seed, but the long term basis of these imprints is really this “mere I.”

Links 4-12 Name and Form, Senses, Contact, Feeling, Craving, Grasping, Becoming, Birth, Aging and Death

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So the fourth link is name and form.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So fifth is the sensory basis. Sixth is the contact. Seventh is feeling. So I’m not going to elaborate on these.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So the eighth and the ninth: eighth is referred to as craving, and the ninth is referred to as grasping. The ninth is referred to as appropriation. The difference between these two is that craving relates more to internal sensations and experiences whereas the ninth is a form of attachment relating more to the external objects.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So ninth refers to the attachment to the objects which give rise to different sensations in us.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So the ninth has an element of a kind of reaching out, wanting and yearning for that thing, which gives rise to the feelings in us, the sensations in us.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So the tenth is becoming, and this actually belongs to the category of karma. And it is an advanced state of karma where the karma has been fully activated, and it’s in the state of becoming. And here the text again distinguishes between two stages. One is called a kind of an ‘entering’ type of becoming; this is before the death. And the second stage of the becoming is referred to as the ‘entered’ state of becoming where the person has already taken the intermediate state of existence.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So although the text says that the second and the tenth belong to the class of karma, but to be more specific, the tenth is not really a karma as such because karma refers to an action, and the action has long ceased in the past. Whether it is verbal or physical or mental, the action has already ceased, and it has remained in the form of an imprint or seed.

So the tenth is a state where the karmic imprint has reached a point of great potency where it has become activated. So one can understand the continuum of the karma in terms of successive stages of this imprint, or one can understand the continuum of the karma in terms of continuation of the disintegrated state, zhig pa, of that karma. But in any case, it’s not that karma itself because the karma has long ceased. It’s the continuity of the karma.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So eleventh is the birth, and twelfth is aging and death.

Interactions of the Twelve Links Over Lifetimes6

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So if we think about how these twelve links in the chain of dependant origination come to be complete with relation to an individual cycle in a birth in samsara: for example as the result of a particular karma, if it projects, propels only one rebirth, then just before the rebirth, the karmic imprint will be activated and its potency brought to the fore. And then the next rebirth takes place, and then that cycle of twelve links comes to be exhausted.

But sometimes you can also have a single karma propelling or projecting a hundred lifetimes, in which case, although the earlier links may be one and the same links, but from the tenth link onwards, each birth will have one becoming which is the karmic stage and then the remaining links.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So…thinking about the way in which the twelve links belonging to one cycle of rebirth come to be complete, one can envision the scenario where, although the fundamental ignorance has arisen (which then gives rise to a volitional action) and karma is created, but before this particular karma is activated through craving and grasping, it is conceivable that before that happens, a whole new cycle of twelve links can be created.

So a new instance of fundamental ignorance arises which then leads to another karmic action and then creates a whole chain, so that before one round of the twelve links is completed, one can imagine many different cycles being created in between. So, for example, from this morning up to now, during this day when we are listening to the teachings and spending time here in this hall, you know, as a result of fundamental ignorance, we may have created many new karmas which will each have its own cycle.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So in this context Tsongkhapa writes, on page 321, the final para, he says that, “Alternatively, motivated by ignorance about the meaning of self….” “This being…,” sorry, the penultimate paragraph:

“This being the case, actualization should be understood as follows: nonvirtuous compositional activity that is motivated by ignorance about karma and its effects deposits latent propensities of bad karma in the consciousness. This makes ready for actualization the group of factors of a miserable rebirth that begins with the resultant period consciousness and ends with feeling. Through repeated nurturing by craving and grasping, these latent propensities are empowered, and birth, aging, and so forth will be actualized in subsequent miserable rebirths.

Alternatively, motivated by ignorance about the meaning of selflessness, meritorious compositional activity—such as ethical discipline within the desire realm—or invariable volitional acts7—such as the cultivation of meditative serenity within the higher8 realms— deposits latent propensities of good karma in the consciousness. This makes ready for actualization the group of factors beginning with the resultant period consciousness and ending with feeling for, respectively, a happy rebirth in the desire realm or rebirth as a deity in the highest realm.”

Benefits of Reflecting on the Twelve Links9

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: There is another passage that I want to read from Tsongkhapa’s text where he writes, on page 322 [ 323], it’s the third paragraph, after the citation from Nagarjuna, when he writes:

“When you reflect on your wandering in such a way through cyclic existence, the twelve factors of dependent arising are the best method for generating disenchantment with cyclic existence. Contemplate your projecting karma, the virtuous and nonvirtuous karma that you have accumulated over countless eons, that has neither issued forth fruitions nor been eradicated by antidotes. When craving and grasping in the present lifetime nurture them, you wander through happy or miserable realms under their control. Arhats have immeasurable projecting karma accumulated when they were ordinary beings, but are free of cyclic existence because they have no afflictions. Once you have reached a firm conviction about this, you will hold the afflictions to be enemies and will make an effort to eradicate them.”

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: Immediately after what we have just read, Tsongkhapa writes:

“With regard to this, the great spiritual mentor10 Pu-chung-wa engaged in mental training, or mind training, based solely on the twelve factors of dependent-origination and made the stages of the path simply a reflection on the progression through and cessation of these links.11 That is, he explained that reflection on the progression through and cessation of the twelve links of miserable realms is the teaching for persons of small capacity and then reflection on the progression through and cessation of the twelve factors of the happy… two happy realms is the teaching for persons of medium capacity. The teaching for persons of great capacity is to assess their own situation according to these two practices [of persons of small and medium capacities]. They then develop love and compassion for living beings, who have been their mothers and have wandered through cyclic existence by way of the twelve links, train themselves in the wish to become a buddha for the sake of these beings, and learn the path to this end.”

So what Tsongkhapa is explaining here is that there exists a lam-rim instruction based on Pu-chung-wa’s teachings where Pu-chung-wa correlates the teachings on the twelve links of dependant origination within the context of the practices of the three scopes, three capacities.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So with that, the explanation of the stages of the path relevant to the person of intermediate capacity is completed.

Interdependence of Ethics, Concentration and Wisdom, The Three Higher Trainings12

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: The fourth outline of that section is really “Ascertaining the nature of the path to liberation,” and it is under this heading the presentation of the practices of three higher trainings are presented.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So with relation to the explanation of the three higher trainings, as we discussed in the teaching on the twelve links, the root of cyclic existence is identified to be ignorance. And the nature of that ignorance is, in general in Buddha’s explanation, identified as grasping at self-existence. And so here self-existence, self-grasping, primarily refers to grasping at the self-existence of the person.

However, according to the Buddhist school that applies critical analysis in the most refined manner, then the understanding is that the difference between the selflessness of phenomena and selflessness of persons is not a function of subtlety of the understanding of no-self, but rather the difference between the two is that of the subject upon which the selflessness is qualified. Therefore, when it comes to the actual content of these two selflessnesses, there is no difference of subtlety.

So from this perspective, then the root of cyclic existence, which is ignorance, here refers to grasping at true existence of all phenomena, inherent existence of things. So even in the case of grasping at self-existence of persons, which, from the point of view of first person takes the form of grasping at an ‘I’, the thought, ‘I am’, which is referred to as the “egoistic view grasping at the thought, ‘I am’,” (jig ta), that grasping at ‘I’ really arises on the basis of grasping at the physical and mental aggregates.

Therefore the antidote against this ignorance needs to be a state of mind that directly opposes the perspective of this grasping. So for example, Dharmakirti states in Pramanavarttika (Exposition of Valid Cognition) where he says that because loving-kindness and so on do not directly oppose the perspective of ignorance, they cannot act as an eradicating antidote against ignorance.

What is needed is an antidote that would directly oppose the perspective of the ignorance itself, and there, what is required is the wisdom realizing no-self, selflessness. And so here, the wisdom realizing no-self and grasping at self—both are focused on the same object, but they perceive the same object in dramatically, diametrically opposed ways. And it is that type of antidote that needs to be cultivated.

So therefore when it comes to defining the path leading to liberation, among the three higher trainings, the principal path really is the path of wisdom. And here wisdom refers not just to realization of emptiness alone. The realization of emptiness has to occur at a very advanced level where there is total clarity in one’s understanding of emptiness. And that kind of realization of emptiness with total clarity can—in a non-conceptual manner—can only arise if the practitioner has gained special insight with relation to emptiness. And the special insight with relation to emptiness can only arise if he or she has attained physical and mental suppleness and the bliss that is associated with that, that is derived on the basis of an application of analysis.

However, in order for that to occur, first of all, there needs to be a basis, a foundation, which is the tranquil abiding, shamatha, wherein the individual has attained physical and mental suppleness brought about by application of the single-pointedness of the mind. And so therefore practice of, attainment of, calm abiding or tranquil abiding becomes indispensable. Therefore the second training, which is the training in concentration, becomes essential.

However, in order to attain this training on concentration, which involves gaining freedom from various internal distractions, one needs to first of all…. And also the attainment of the tranquil abiding and this advanced level of concentration is really a function of the application of mindfulness and awareness, or meta-awareness, or introspective awareness. And so one needs therefore to refine these two faculties and apply them, which would then lead to the attainment of tranquil abiding.

In order to do that, on the first stage one must cultivate these two faculties. And this is done by observing sound ethical discipline where one learns to apply the faculty of mindfulness and awareness with respect to one’s own behavior and action, so that one fine-tunes the application of these two faculties so that initially one learns to turn away from the external, gross levels of distractions and then eventually leading to turning away from the internal distractions. Therefore the first training, which is the higher training in morality, becomes essential. So it is in this way the three higher trainings, the practices of the path of the three higher trainings, becomes indispensable as the path to liberation.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So with that, the explanation on the stages of the path pertaining to the middle scope or intermediate scope is complete.

The Stages of the Path for the Practitioner of Greatest Capacity13

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: [to the audience] Did you bring the second volume with you?

His Holiness: No? [continues in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So we’ll read from the beginning of volume two.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: In the opening section of the stages of the path relevant to the practitioner of greatest capacity, Tsongkhapa cites two quotations from Nagarjuna’s… it’s not Nagarjuna’s… Chandragomin’s Letter to a Student, and so after the second quotation he writes the following. He says that, “Therefore…” This is on page 15 of Volume II.

“Therefore, the Mahayana is the origin of all the goodness14 of self and others; the medicine that alleviates all troubles; the great path traveled by all knowledgeable persons; nourishment for all beings who see, hear, remember, and come into contact with it; and that which has the great skill-in-means that engages you in others’ welfare and thereby indirectly achieves your own welfare in its entirety. One who enters it thinks, ‘Wonderful! I have found what I am looking for.’ Enter this supreme vehicle with all of the ‘strength of an excellent person’ that you have.”

His Holiness: Yes.

Thupten Jinpa: So these words are really powerful.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So when Tsongkhapa talks about how it is the source of the goodness of self and others, how it is the medicine that dispels the downfall of all beings, and how it is the great path that has been traversed by all the great beings, this really accords with a stanza from Shantideva in his Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, where Shantideva writes that:

“Therefore one should ride the horse of bodhicitta, the awakening mind, that dispels all forms of weariness and exhaustion,” or weariness and discouragement, “and travel from a place of joy to a place of joy. And what intelligent person would not venture on such a journey.”

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: Similarly in Maitreya’s text, which is an aspirational prayer related to the bodhisattva Maitreya, there is a stanza which reads (describing the quality of bodhicitta, the awakening mind) it says that:

“Bodhicitta, the awakening mind, is that which brings to an end the road, the path, to the lower realms. It leads, it opens up, the path to birth in the fortunate realms, and it also leads someone to a state beyond aging and death, and to the bodhicitta I pay homage.”

So the point being made here is that, although the primary purpose and ultimate aim of the practice of awakening mind is to attain buddhahood for the benefit of all beings, but if one engages fully in the practices of bodhicitta then all these other aspirations—the aspirations of the initial capacity which is to attain favorable rebirth and the aspiration of the middle capacity which is to attain freedom from cyclic existence—all of these can be achieved in the process.

His Holiness: [in Tibetan]

Thupten Jinpa: So having said that, we have to also recognize that there is no possibility of just jumping straight to the bodhicitta practice without actually going through the practices of the initial and middle, intermediate capacity. Because, for example, if we look at what is meant by awakening mind, bodhicitta, awakening mind is defined in terms of a state of mind which is composed of two aspirations, and these are aspiration for the attainment of buddhahood and aspiration to bring about other sentient beings’ welfare.

So when we talk about the aspiration to bring about others’ welfare, here the principal element is the cultivation of compassion, and as we discussed before, attainment of, realization of great compassion depends upon realization of having a true renunciation. And the true renunciation, which is the aspiration to attain, genuine aspiration to attain freedom, requires initially turning away from excessive concerns about, excessive attachment to, the concerns of this life.

So you can see that, in terms of the progression of the mind and the stages of development, there is a kind of a sequence, and so one cannot just jump onto a bodhicitta practice and ignore the practices of the initial and middle capacity. Therefore, in Tsongkhapa’s text, when the practices of… stages of the path of the initial and middle capacities are described, he doesn’t present them as something that is independent of the practices of bodhicitta.

Therefore he characterizes these practices as stages of the path shared with the person of initial capacity, and stages of the path shared with the person of middle capacity. And the point here is that these practices are preliminary stages to a bodhisattva practitioner whose ultimate aim is to engage in the practices relevant to the person of great capacity.

His Holiness: So, good night.  


Notes

1 See Guy Newland, From Here to Enlightenment, ch. 8:85-88, for this topic and the next. [Return to text]

2 See Great Treatise, I:304-305 for translation by Joshua Cutler. [Return to text]

3 See Great Treatise, I:304-305. [Return to text]

4 See Newland, ch. 8: 98-104. [Return to text]

5 See Newland, ch. 8: 88ff. [Return to text]

6 See Newland, ch. 8: 91-92. [Return to text]

7 Thupten Jinpa’s translation uses “volitional acts;” the Great Treatise uses “compositional activity.” [Return to text]

8 The Great Treatise adds the bracketed phrase [deities’]. [Return to text]

9 See Newland, ch. 8: 93-94. [Return to text]

10 The Great Treatise translation is “great spiritual friend.” [Return to text]

11 Thupten Jinpa translation is “links” rather “factors” in the Great Treatise citation. [Return to text]

12 See Newland, ch. 8:94-96. [Return to text]

13 See Newland, ch. 8: 96-97. [Return to text]

14 The Great Treatise reads “good.” [Return to text]